A breakdown study of a mockup-based consumer haptic setup for virtual reality

Despite the extensive use of visual and audio feedback in Virtual Reality experiences, it is possible to acknowledge a still limited exploitation of haptic devices to recreate the sense of touch, especially at the consumer level. In order to support the high variety of haptic stimuli, commercial off-the-shelf devices may need to be used together, combining separate functionalities into a unique solution and compensating for possibly lacking features of more sophisticated equipment. The present paper moves from the results of a previous study, which analyzed the impact that two haptic setups built using consumer VR gloves and user-prepared props can have on immersive experiences encompassing an active electromechanical tool (precisely, an electric screwdriver). The said study showed that a combined setup, consisting of a pair of vibrotactile gloves and a custom-made mockup of the screwdriver, could be the most effective from many perspectives. It did not isolate, however, the contribution of each setup component to the users' experience. Thus, the current work operates a breakdown analysis of the reference setup by first identifying a set of simpler, downgraded configurations that could be obtained using the original components, and then evaluating their performance-sophistication tradeoff through a new comparative study.